Bihar Police Association locks horns with DGP over cops’ removal

PATNA: The Bihar Police Association (BPA) on Monday announced that it will hold its working committee meeting on August 25 to chalk out future course of action on the recent move of the state police headquarters to remove 386 SHOs and circle inspectors from their posts.
BPA president Mritunjay Kumar Singh said the step would demoralise the police force. “The association will first urge the police top brass to reconsider the decision.If our request is not accepted, we will chalk out our future course of action at the working committee meeting of the association,” Singh added.
He said some police officers fell victim to personal vendetta of their seniors. “It is wrong to describe the shunted officers as tainted. The officers who served the department for decades with honesty and full sincerity cannot become tainted all of a sudden. They are a depressed lot today,” Singh said.
Earlier in the day, DGP Gupteshwar Pandey had said that the decision to remove police officers facing different charges was taken on the direction of CM Nitish Kumar, who wanted to set things right and improve people’s perception about the police. “Mafiagiri ab nahi chalegi (Mafia will not flourish now),” the DGP said.
Defending the decision, the DGP said, “It was need of the hour. Jo sarkar ne kaha hamne lagoo kiya (What the government proposed, we implemented it).” The DGP also claimed that there was no discrimination on the part of the supervisory authority while disposing of the departmental proceedings against the officers in question.
The DGP, however, said he would listen to the grievances of the officers if they approached him or his sub-ordinates. “I will listen to the complaints of such officers on Fridays. It will be ensured that their grievances are redressed,” he added.
The DGP didn’t miss the opportunity to remind the men in uniform that the government has strengthened infrastructure right from the police headquarters to the police station. “If we fail to deliver the desired results now, there will be no excuse for me to make,” the DGP said.